In general, photographic elements comprise a base having photographic layers coated on one or both sides thereof. Photographic layers are for example light-sensitive silver halide emulsion layers, intermediate layers, protective layers, antihalation layers, etc.
The base in particular comprises a film of a self-supporting natural or synthetic polymeric compound such as a poly-.alpha.-olefin (e.g. polyethylene or polystyrene), a cellulose ester (e.g. cellulose triacetate), polyester (e.g. polyethyleneterephthalate), a polycarbonate or paper.
Most photographic light-sensitive elements have photographic layers coated only on one surface of the support, the other surface being free of photographic layes. A photographic element suitable for color reproduction comprises for example a base having coated on one surface thereof blue-sensitive silver halide emulsion gelatin layers, green-sensitive silver halide emulsion gelatin layers and red-sensitive silver halide emulsion gelatin layers associated with protective, intermediate and antihalation layers. To obtain the photographic image, said silver halide photographic elements are generally exposed and processed in developer, bleaching and fixing baths.
It is known that electrostatic charges tend to accumulate during the production and the use of photographic elements, because of some surface friction resulting from contact with other surfaces. The light-sensitive layers are sensitized by the discharge of accumulated electrostatic charges and this results in the formation of dots or branched line marks (called "static marks") upon development.
To overcome the adverse effects resulting from the accumulation of static electrical charges, it is conventional practice to include an antistatic layer in the photographic elements.
Electroconductive water-soluble polymers, such as sulfonated polymers, have been widely used in photographic elements as backing layers to provide static protection by preventing the static build-up through electrical conductivity. A problem with these antistatic layers is their inability to withstand photographic processing baths and their tendency to cause photographic sheets or films to stick together or to stick to other surfaces. Such problems have been solved by coating onto said antistatic layers a protective layer comprising hydrophobic polymers. Such antistatic double layer constructions still suffer from other disadvantages. Thus, for example, "cratering" phenomena and opacity occur upon photographic development, especially when photographic elements are stored at high temperature and high relative humidity before processing. Sections of the element comprising the backing antistatic double layer construction described above, examined after processing with a microscope, show a disruption of the original double layer construction probably due to the penetration of the processing solutions into the backing layers.